Long Island Town and Former Top Official Charged With Defrauding Municipal Investors

https://www.sec.gov/news/press-release/2017-213

Long Island Town and Former Top Official Charged With Defrauding Municipal Investors

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
2017-213
Washington D.C., Nov. 21, 2017 —

The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged Oyster Bay, New York, and its former top elected official with defrauding investors in the town’s municipal securities offerings by hiding the existence and potential financial impact of side deals with a businessman who owned and operated restaurants and concession stands at several town facilities.

According to the SEC’s complaint filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, Oyster Bay agreed several years ago to indirectly guarantee four separate private loans to the vendor totaling more than $20 million. The agreement to indirectly guarantee the debts allegedly stemmed from the concessionaire’s longstanding close relationship with then-town supervisor John Venditto and other officials that involved gifts, bribes, kickbacks, and political support.

The SEC’s complaint alleges that Oyster Bay and Venditto deliberately concealed the indirect loan guarantees when they should have been disclosed in connection with the town’s 26 securities offerings from August 2010 to December 2015. According to the complaint, this information was material to current and prospective investors due to the potential impact on the town’s finances. For example, in one scenario outlined in the SEC’s complaint, the town could have been required to make a termination payment of approximately $16 million (approximately 16 percent of the town’s operating budget) within 60 days had the vendor defaulted on the loans.
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In a parallel action, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York today filed a superseding indictment that included securities fraud charges against Venditto.
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